Oman today_ As the new season of club competitions in Asia approaches, all eyes are on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today, where the Asian Football Confederation headquarters will host the draw for two major tournaments: the AFC Elite League and the second-tier AFC Champions League 2 (ACL 2). The ceremony will take place at 10:30 AM Tehran time and will determine the paths of the continent’s top clubs for the 2025–2026 season.
The AFC Elite League, now entering the second year of its new format, is the continent’s most prestigious club competition and will feature 12 top teams from six different countries. The tournament kicks off on September 15, with teams facing each other in a long league stage consisting of eight matches (four home and four away). A key rule in this stage is that clubs from the same country will not be drawn into the same group.
A major change in this year’s seeding is that only one team from each country is placed in Pot 1; this decision has pushed major clubs like Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia into Pot 2, increasing the intensity of the group stage. Meanwhile, Tractor Sazi of Tabriz, Iran’s sole representative, has been placed in Pot 1, even ranking above Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad.
Kuala Lumpur Hosts the Draw to Determine the Path of Asia’s Top Clubs for the 2025–2026 Season
